Friday, September 28, 2012

A few days ago we found a bag of googly eyes here at the shop. You know, the little white plastic disks with the smaller black disk trapped under clear lens that jiggles and shakes when they move about.
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Carnations

Sunflower

No idea why we have them… we’re not making a bunch of pipe cleaner animals or anything here! So we started sticking them on all kinds of silly things, our water cooler, a lamp, and then flowers… that’s when things got ridiculous.

Antherium

Before we knew it we had eyebombed our own store. From roses to liatris, almost every flower in the shop had been humanized.

Hydrangea

We set up our video camera and about 45 minutes of silly unscripted floral puppetry ensued.
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Pom Pon

We always thought our crew was a bit wacky, but now we know for sure!

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Heliconia

Some of our "performance" was slightly reminiscent of the talking flowers of Alice in Wonderland (without the lovely singing), but most was just absurd.

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Calla Lilies

Iris

We’d like to say that no flowers were harmed in the making of this film, but that would be a lie. Our laughing orange lily didn’t make it (we didn't even get a picture of the poor guy)…

while twirling he lost 3 of his 6 petals, but he shall be forever immortalized in the archives of You Tube.
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Monday, September 17, 2012

Many of our long time customers know that 11 years ago we
had a fire at our Philadelphia location that forced us to close our doors for
almost a year. To catch up on that bit of Stein history check out this article
that was in the Northeast Times shortly after we reopened.

It was a trying time, to say the least, and it is never too
far from memory, but just a few weeks ago while rooting through some Stein
storage we found a relic of our post-fire past, a box of black bowls.

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A traditional arrangement designed in a black bowl.

Remember when gas stations had those give-aways when you filled
the tank? Well that’s what these black bowls were. From the gas stations hundreds
made their way to Penn State Gardens, a greenhouse that Steins has a close
relationship with (in fact, it used to be owned by Steins years and years ago).
Paul, the greenhouse owner, eager to help us get back on our feet upon reopening
with a mountain of post-fire debt (insurance is never enough) sold us the bowls
at a generous 10 cents each!

A topiary arrangement designed in a black bowl.

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Sure, the bowls were filthy after being stored under greenhouse
potting benches for 30+ years, but what’s a little dirt when you have a shop full
of floral designers eager to return to their craft? We scrubbed the bowls,
filled them with oasis floral foam and let our art take over.

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A traditional arrangement designed in a black bowl.

At a time when we were working in a building still partially
under reconstruction and trying to get the word out to our wonderful and loyal
customers that we were back (and better than ever!) these simple black bowls
became the vessel upon which Steins stayed afloat. They allowed us to focus our
resources on flowers and provide our patrons with what Steins has always been
known for, beautiful lush arrangements at a great value.

Party centerpieces designed in black bowls.

These bowls are versatile enough to house designs from
traditional to ultra-contemporary. We used them for almost everything: party centerpieces, birthday arrangements, and
beautiful everyday designs.

Now, we are happy to have returned to arranging in extravagant
glass, impressive ceramic and stylish baskets, but we have found ourselves
waxing nostalgic upon rediscovering these simple receptacles.

A kind customer likened our return after the fire to the legendary
Phoenix, reborn from the ashes to live again. Thanks to these humble black
bowls this Phoenix florist continues to soar.

Stein Your Florist Co., the Phoenix florist.

We would like to thank those that helped us through this
difficult time… Our friends and family, our wonderful employees that stood by
us, as we stood by them, Paul and everyone at Penn State Gardens, John Dorschug
and Graebel Van Lines for your support,
manpower, boxes and packing supplies, and all our wonderful and valued
customers. Because of everyone’s support we have been able to practice our
craft for 125 years! Thank you!

We are captivated by the beauty of flowers every day. This blog is dedicated to the moments when we are completely enthralled with the joy of flowers. Thank you for partaking in these moments with us.

Your authors are the expert designers and staff of Stein Your Florist Co. and Steins at Sunset Florist. Formed in 1887 in Philadelphia, PA, Steins is the city's oldest florist and has been named Philadelphia's Favorite Florist. Our vision is to share our love of flowers with the world, while maintaining socially and ecologically responsible practices.

Flowers make the moment... Let us make a moment for you at Stein Your Florist Co.